Yahoo!7 Answers Australia

 I came across this question yesterday asking “What are four news stories that you will always remember?”and really enjoyed reading through the answers and thinking of what my own contribution would be. I liked the question so much that I gave it a star and featured it for the day in the Best of Answers module on the Yahoo!7 Answers homepage. I’m sure the asker will be happy with the results she gets – at last count more than four hundred people had responded to her question, mainly with interesting and intelligent answers.If you take a look at the Yahoo!7 Answers homepage each day you will see that there is a range of new questions – some already resolved so you can check out the best answer for yourself, and others that are open and still need responses from members of the community such as yourself. You will find too that they always have at least one star – given by one of the members of the Yahoo!7 Answers Team. Because we are responsible for choosing the questions that go in the module we like to keep track of them aswell, and starring them is a great way to do that. You can check out some of the questions we have starred by looking at our profile – and then star them yourself!

If you’d like to see your question featured on the homepage you can always send us a message asking us to check it out – but make sure that it is a well phrased and interesting question on a topic that lots of people would be able to give some insight into. We are always on the lookout for local Australian questions, and questions that cover current events – which are usually of common interest to people.

We’re looking forward to hearing from you!

Clea

There is a very strong community of pro wrestling fans on Yahoo!7 Answers, despite the fact that it is one of the lesser publicised sports in the world. So there was a barrage of questions on the site when it was this morning announced that WWE Wrestling veteran Chris Benoit and his family were found dead in their home. Fans of the Canadian born superstar are devastated by the news, and authorities have yet to reveal what the actual cause of death was.

From the loss of one legend to the retirement of another… back home radio stalwart John Laws has announced that he will be switching off his golden microphone for the last time after the next federal election – possibly as soon as November this year. Lawsy began his career spinning vinyl records but he has been known over the past twenty years as an acid tongued ‘shock jock’, an interviewer who was never afraid to voice his opinion. Love him or hate him there’s not many can brag they’ve spent fifty five years in the one industry – and it is unlikely there will ever be a true replacement for this living legend.

Also this week the annual Wimbledon tennis tournament has commenced in London – with the world’s top players gathering to battle it out on the courts between now and July 8^th. It seems there are only two big names in male tennis at the moment – Nadal and Federer, but there is still much speculation on Yahoo!7 Answers as to who the eventual winners of the competition will be.

I’ve always felt that following tennis is like learning another language – straight sets, backhand, deuces wild – and in what other part of life does love count for nothing?

Clea

There have been a lot of changes in Ian Thorpe’s life over the past few months. You might think that after retiring from ten years of professional swimming he would have wanted to simply hang out and spend some time getting used to life out of the ‘fast lane’, but no, the 22 time world record breaker has no plans of slowing down and has simply moved on to new projects.

Ian has always been considerably involved with charities, but more recently he has turned his attention to his passion for the environment and the preservation of Australia’s natural surroundings. His latest venture has been to make a documentary for Foxtel channel Fox8, fittingly called ‘Fish out of Water’, where he has travelled around Australia visiting stunning locations that are beginning to demonstrate the impact of climate change, such as Tasmania’s Blue Tier old growth Forest, Victoria’s Murray River and Western Australia’s Crystal Caves. Ian is hoping the documentary will encourage people to reduce damaging consumption that is having such a devastating effect on these beautiful areas. The documentary will air at 7:30pm on July 5 on Fox8.

As well as asking you this week on Yahoo!7 Answers what Australians can be doing to help preserve our natural environment, Ian has given some of his own tips on being environmentally friendly in New Idea magazine, including some water saving advice I’ve never heard before – don’t wash your jeans every time you wear them!

Ian’s question will be open all week so why not contribute your ideas – he might just choose your answer as best!

Clea

We’re sorry Mexico!

It has certainly been a busy week for Australians, with plenty to read about in the headlines. One thing that surprised me this morning was the number of Mexicans on Yahoo!7 Answers furiously demanding to know why Australians have such disrespect for their flag. This all stemmed from a competition on the reality show Big Brother which involved throwing projectiles at a Mexican flag, which, to add insult to injury, was upside down. Apparently Mexico is very patriotic when it comes to their flag, and the footage of Big Brother contestants wasn’t taken lightly as a joke or bad decision, but rather, an insult.

So if you come across any angry users from Mexico please let them know that as a whole Australia means no disrespect! The producers of the show have issued an apology to anyone who may have been offended, and hopefully we as a nation will still be allowed to visit and enjoy the fabulous fajitas and margaritas that Mexico has to offer.

Also this week the good news from all the torrential rain that battered the east coast of Australia is that some of it finally reached the dams – and that in some areas water levels are back up to where they were three or four years ago, before water restrictions were introduced. There is some relief amongst all the cold forecasts today, as we’ve now passed the winter solstice, which means the days will just get that little bit longer from here on in!

Far away from our winter wonderland a celebrity wedding was celebrated this week in true “we’ve got loads of money” style, with James Packer and his model/singer girlfriend Erica Baxter tying the knot twice in Antibes in the south of France, surrounded by fabulous friends, family and wellwishers. The couple looked as happy and radiant as any newlyweds, which is the one thing that money can’t actually buy.

Have a great weekend!

Clea

Even Yamsters feel the cold!

We’re a funny bunch here in Australia. We’re all so used to the hot weather that a slight drop in temperature is akin to armageddon for us… it sends us into either a blind panic or a miserable depression.

For most of the population the cold weather has hit with a vengeance, with such intensity that it has left us reeling. Our northern cousins would scoff at the sheer terror we feel when the temperature drops below a 17 degree maximum but all over the country we are freaking out!… and commiserating with each other about the fact that we haven’t even reached the winter solstice – there’s a long way to go!

Bears have the right idea of simply bunkering down for the long months of cold, but we have no choice but to soldier on, braving the inevitable colds that descend upon us, the headaches caused by the ‘freezing’ air (sorry again northern cousins, but we think it’s freezing) and frantically trying to figure out how to work the demister in the car that hasn’t been turned on once in the past eight months.

Along with the health problems and chapped lips Australians struggle through the winter months because we simply don’t know what to do with ourselves once outdoor activity is restricted. Holding indoor parties is a strange and foreign concept and we usually end up stoically barbequing in the pouring rain and jogging along the beach despite the 80k an hour winds whipping sand into our faces.

Perhaps it is time to visit our friends up in Cairns… one place where a cool change is welcomed because it hardly drops below 25 degrees even in winter. The other option is to simply pack up and embrace the sub-zero temperatures by hitting the slopes!

Stay warm!

Clea

Relationship guru and motivational speaker Dr John Demartini has joined us again with a question for the Answers community. A world leading inspirational speaker and author, Dr Demartini has helped thousands of couples through their relationship woes, has given presentations at seminars and conferences all over the world and has been a guest on hundreds of television and radio shows. He has his own blog on Yahoo!7 Dating and also participated in the global phenomenon ‘The Secret’, which has changed lives all over the world.

Even though he is the expert on matters of love, Dr Demartini wants to hear from you – about which special tricks you keep up your sleeve to get what it is you want from your other half or to make sure your relationship is the way you want it to be. There are already some great answers coming in – why not take a look and add your thoughts!

We met with Dr Demartini on his most recent visit to Australia and he even gave us his question to camera – you can take a look here –

(If you’re having trouble viewing the footage you can try this link)

If you missed out last time, Dr Demartini will be visiting Australia again in July – just visit his website for more information!

Yahoo!7 Answers Team

Answers is undergoing few more updates. We don’t anticipate an extended downtime, but just thought you should know. We have a couple more feature updates rolling out so I thought I’d give you a quick heads-up.

By now you will have noticed the new Block User feature, and many of you have questions about how it works. The Yamster has been answering some of these in the Yahoo!7 Answers category, but here are answers to some of the commonly asked questions. When you block a user, you also prevent them from sending you an email, contacting you on messenger, or accessing your 360 page. Initially this feature is launching with a limit of 200 blocked users, but we can re-evaluate this if necessary depending on usage and feedback.

But that’s not all for new features! Our Answers Network email notifications are being updated, so whenever a contact asks a question, you’ll now receive an email letting you know what they asked along with a link to their question – in case you have an answer to share, or know someone who may be able to help. From now on, you no longer need to log in to see when one of your Contacts has asked a question.

We realise many of you have numerous contacts, so this new feature will default to “off” for all Answerers who have ten or more contacts as well as for those users who have opted out of fan notifications. You’ll be able to enable (or disable) this feature by clicking “Edit my info” in your Answers profile.

We are also updating our Advanced Search feature with new options to refine your searches. Now, you can ask search to find matches for all of your keywords (full matches), some of your keywords (partial matches), or for an exact phrase. You can also specify particular keywords you don’t want to match. In addition, you can now search within subcategories, and you can also save searches.

We hope you enjoy these updates!

Yahoo!7 Answers Team

The judges have begun collaborating to find the best answer to the Yahoo!7 Answers/Be a Better Planet question – and they certainly have a stack to sort through! While the question is yet to be resolved it is no longer officially taking answers to be considered to win the competition, however you are still welcome to add your thoughts on the best way to spend $50,000 to improve the Australian environment if you have any.

Before the big announcement is made let’s meet one more of our judging panel members – Professor Derek Eamus. An expert and well renowned environmental scientist at the University of Technology Sydney, and author of over 150 research papers, book chapters and reports into climate change, plant ecology and water use, Professor Eamus is well armed with knowledge to help decide which response to the $50,000 question has the most merit.

Professor Eamus took some time from sorting through the myriad responses to tell us about why he feels so strongly about environmental issues…

When did you first become passionate about environmental issues?

When I started a research project in Scotland looking into the impacts of acid rain on forest growth. Acid rain was a serious problem for much of Europe and North America in the 70’s and 80’s but through the research we conducted we were able to convince government and industry of the need to reduce emissions of sulphur dioxide and other acid forming chemicals. Consequently acid rain is not a problem for Europe and America now (although it is in China and elsewhere).

What made you decide to become involved in spreading the word about climate change?

A second research project that I started in Scotland looked at the impact of carbon dioxide on forest growth and physiology. I continued this research in Darwin, NT and now am part of a major research team growing Australian trees in giant chambers in the field with a CO₂ enriched atmosphere. These research projects clearly revealed to me that forest growth and forest water use will be altered in response to climate change and that there was a need for this research to be widely understood in the public domain. Consequently I lecture about this topic to my students.

What is your biggest concern about the state of Australia’s environment? The rate of climate change and the impact this has on Australia’s natural environment, (including water resources) will be faster than politicians and industry are willing to respond.

What do you do in your own daily life to reduce carbon emissions? I use public transport as often as possible. We buy the most energy and water efficient appliances we can for the household. I ride a motorbike in preference to a car. We recycle as much as we can and we repair as much as we can (I’ve repaired the vacuum cleaner three times with new carbon brushes for the motor) before buying new. We try to buy locally grown produce to reduce the transport costs embedded in food. We don’t iron many clothes!

Is Australia lagging behind other countries in terms of reducing carbon emissions and generally being environmentally friendly?

Australia has particular problems not shared by many other countries, such as the lack of consistent rainfall, the high temperatures and the large distances between major centers of population. This presents challenges. We should be harnessing renewable energy more effectively and re-evaluating the crops we grow in Australia. For example, why do we choose to grow cotton and rice in Australia when rainfall is so unpredictable? We are very poor at investing in effective accessible and cheap public transport. So, on balance, we could be doing better than we do at the moment.

Do you think people have their heads in the sand when it comes to climate change?

I don’t think people have their heads in the sand about this, but I think they feel that the politicians and industry groups need to unite and act on this and provide some sustained and intelligent leadership.

Professor Eamus is joined by his fellow judges, including Yahoo! Founder and co-chief David Filo, New Idea Editor Robyn Foyster, Planet Ark founder Jon Dee, and Better Homes and Gardens Landscaper Jason Hodges, to whittle more than a thousand entries down to just one. I don’t envy him the task – there are so many great responses – take a look for your self!

Clea

The Yamster is dedicated to getting rid of trolls!

We’ve been looking forward to this day for some time and now it’s finally here!

From today onwards you no longer need our help – you can block or unblock annoying trolls at will. Control over the visibility of your Q&A is now in your hands, and it’s easy to keep trolls away from your Answers experience.

How does it work?

You can block a user by either selecting Block User in their avatar rollover or by clicking on Block User on their profile page. Blocked users will not be able to view your Q&A or your Network on your public profile page. They will also be blocked from becoming your Fan. A list of Blocked users will appear on your private profile under the new Blocked Users tab, located next to your Contacts and Fans.

We will be reviewing the Blocked User lists, investigating people who have been blocked by multiple members of the community and taking appropriate action on a regular basis. By blocking trolls, you are helping clean up Answers and improving the Answers community.

What can I expect?

Our product team has asked me to point out that this is a Beta feature and isn’t 100% perfect yet, but they wanted to make this feature available to you as quickly as possible. You may experience some odd behaviour while some minor tweaks to the system are made over the coming months.

This is just another step in our plan to fight trolls on Answers. A lot of work has been put into getting here, but we still have a lot of troll-fighting functionality in the works that we’ll roll out in the coming months.

Yahoo!7 Answers Team

Lately when I’ve been using Search on Yahoo!7 to look for things or do research I’ve noticed that Answers comes up in a direct display at the bottom of my results – and often has the exact information that I’m looking for. I normally start from the Searchbox at the top of the Yahoo!7 homepage when I am trying to track something down, but often even when I’m not planning to go to Answers I end up there anyway because the information is so helpful!

Answers is also accessible via the fabulous new federated search product Yahoo!7 alpha, which gives you results from multiple sources such as the photo site Flickr, the latest and most up to date news, and of course the world wide web. So if I am searching on alpha for smoothie recipes I will be able to access questions on the topic that people have asked on Answers. Pretty cool!

Because I am an Answers addict I need to have it accessible at any given moment, so I have added the page to my list of favourite websites and I have downloaded the Yahoo!7 Toolbar on Internet Explorer. Answers is one of top 3 most popular Toolbar buttons, and clicking on it allows you to directly access pages where you can ask, answer and browse through resolved questions. You can also search Answers straight from the Toolbar searchbox.

Then there are those moments when I just can’t help but check out something on Answers… for example when I’m on one of the popular Lifestyle pages such as Food or Health, one of the magazine sites, or even checking out AFL news I notice the Answers badge on the right hand side and just take a quick look to see the best answer to a question that I find interesting.

The pulse module on the right hand side of the Yahoo!7 homepage is always changing too, with new and intriguing questions…

…as is the daily featured question under the homepage searchbox.

 

If you’re a real Answers junkie you can also add your favourite questions to My Yahoo!7, and access them along with all the other info you like to keep track of. You can even get a regular fix of answers via Yahoo!7 Messenger – simply click on ‘Add Plugins’ and you will see a bunch of Answers questions that are frequently being updated.

Sometimes my mates tease me because I’m such a fountain of general knowledge… it’s all thanks to continuously visiting Answers… and I get my own back on quiz night!

Clea